Punters left reeling after a string of surprise results

Some huge names were beaten on a Saturday that will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons for bettors. 

The horse racing bookmakers will have enjoyed Saturday’s racing a lot more than most bettors or fans of the sport as the results went against the grain for the most part. Across Australia and New Zealand, there were some shock defeats for some outstanding horses. 

Saturday was a day to forget for most horse racing bettors as a string of favourites were beaten at Flemington, Randwick and Ellerslie in a day where a number of reputations took a dent during the afternoon’s action. 

No Black Caviar-like performance

EIPH was partly to blame for Imperatriz being beaten in the Newmarket at Flemington. She had a 58kg impost which suggested even before the race that it was going to have to be a remarkable performance for her to win so to finish second despite bleeding was still a massive run. 
 
EIPH is an exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage which means that blood was found in her airways after coming up from her lungs when she was scoped after the race. She will have to have a vet's certificate before she will be allowed to run again.  
 
It is a common problem for racehorses and although not ideal to have done it once as it can become a more regular occurrence, it should not put anyone off betting her when she is next seen in a race.

Pride is dented twice at Royal Randwick 

There was double disappointment for Joseph Pride at Randwick on Saturday when his two stable stars Private Eye and Think About It were turned over in back-to-back races. Pride did not want to comment afterwards on what would have been a tough day for the stable.  
 
At least Think About It put in a performance of some quality but Private Eye ran his worst race in a long time. The only win he has had in his last nine races was in The Shorts last September so perhaps we are just overrating the horse despite all of his solid Group 1 form, including when third in The Everest in the spring. 
 
Speaking of The Everest, Think About It was the 2023 winner of the race and was not beaten far on Saturday in the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes. He found Lady Laguna too strong on the day and while she is a nice mare who we have put up in our Saturday tips on more than one occasion, she should not have been good enough to give him a beating in receipt of only 2kg.  
 
Private Eye was sent off at $2.30 and Think About It was $2.35 so they were not exactly red-hot favourites on the betting sites so perhaps it was expected that they were not going to be at their best today but given the races that they were in, they should have been winning. 

Ellerslie produces a further shock on the day 

In terms of price, Legarto being beaten in the Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes was the biggest one of the afternoon. Sent off the $1.20 favourite, she was beaten by roughie El Vencedor who was sent off a barely considered $21 runner. 
 
Legarto had come into Saturday’s contest off the back of a win in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke, one of three times that she has saluted at the top level. She had shown her ability at Flemington last March when raiding the Australian Guineas, beating Attrition in a close finish.  
 
It is not the first time that she has suffered a short-priced reversal at Ellerslie, beaten at $1.30 in January’s Aotearoa Classic. She is due back at Flemington for the Australian Cup on March 30. 

One of the things that most of us in horse racing live for is to see the stars of the game winning. On Saturday, a few flames were extinguished and reputations were given a hard time. Horses aren’t machines but this weekend has been one full of more surprises than most.